A Man who never returned
by Sanis-chan
Summary: Bruce runs into Rachel after believing her to be dead for months, only to find out why she had deliberately tried to avoid any contact with him. A big misunderstanding leads Bruce to the conclusion that she didn't know him that well after all.


A/N: This one-shot was inspired by another fanfiction where it had turned out that Rachel had survived the explosion. That set me thinking about how she would react to the events which took place after her 'death' and I guess this is the result.

* * *

"Rachel?" Bruce whispered with the harsh voice which was meant to scare criminals. Criminals weren't the only people he scared though. Especially ever since he had gone on that killing spree that evening.

That evening, when Harvey Dent, her former fiancée, had fallen.

And the blood had been on _his_ hands.

Hands, which were now once again covered in blood. Blood from the people who had just tried to harm her. Who now lay unconscious on the pavement.

"You're alive?" He said as he stepped in her direction. Even through the mask it was visible that he was overwhelmed with shock and disbelief.

Rachel flinched, not even bothering to attempt getting up, and despite the fact that she knew it wouldn't help, she tried to crawl backwards. Away from _him_.

Bruce froze as realization hit him.

Rachel was _afraid_ of him.

"What's wrong?" He asked close to a whisper, letting the voice of Bruce Wayne replace the voice of Batman.

* * *

Rachel's mind was numb.

She had been in hiding ever since the incident with the warehouses. Afraid to let anyone know about her survival, in order to avoid being targeted by the Joker once again.

The days had passed so slowly, as all she could do was hide and pray for Harvey and Bruce as they faced the biggest threat Gotham had encountered so far. Being revealed would only make things worse. She knew that the both of them wouldn't be able to make rational decisions if the Joker had her in his clutches. So in order to save them, and Gotham, she had to remain indoors, despite the unbearable desire to see them again, to let them know she was alright. To take away their doubts and support them in their harsh style of living.

But those days had suddenly come to an end.

The Joker was caught.

Rachel had been overjoyed to see the headline in the newspaper.

At least, until she read the other two big articles occupying the page.

The articles of the death of Gotham's white knight, and his blood which stained the gloves of Gotham's famous vigilante.

Harvey was dead.

And Bruce had killed him. Along with 5 others.

Emotions violated her mind like never before. Not when Bruce had disappeared, nor the news of his return. Not the discovery of Batman's true identity, not Harvey's proposal. Not the Joker, as he held her at knifepoint, not even the moment she believed to be her last in that warehouse, exchanging that last conversation with Harvey.

…Their last conversation.

That had been their last conversation, when she had given him her answer.

The same answer, which she had written in that letter to Bruce only hours before that moment.

Bruce… There was no way that she could let the news sink in her mind. Bruce wouldn't do such a thing. He had been her best friend ever since their childhood! She knew what Bruce was like, and he wasn't a killer.

For a moment, all she had been able to do was sob, letting the tears stream from her eyes in an amount she had never even thought possible. The newspaper crumpling in her grip, while tears stained the paper.

Why? Why did it have to be Harvey? What had happened to him? What was the true story?

Because there was no way that Bruce could have killed him.

Or was there?

Rachel tried to be rational, assuring herself that the papers never knew the truth anyway. That she knew there had to be an explanation for the article the way it had turned out.

Until a memory from about seven years ago suddenly changed her mind.

The day when Joe Chill had been murdered.

Bruce had carried a gun.

All the emotions he had buried inside all those years, his need for revenge, it had scared her.

In the end, Bruce had disappeared for seven years, and returned as a different man. A man who had understood justice, and his mistakes from the past.

But what reassured her that he hadn't made the same mistake again?

What if her death had blinded him with hatred once again? What if this killing spree of his had all been an act of revenge?

No, no she had to be wrong. She had only heard this news just now, the emotions that currently ran through her disabled her from thinking clearly. She had to face the facts.

Returning her attention to the paper, trying to straighten out the paper once again, Rachel started searching for the names of the people that had died that night.

She had to gasp for air as she tumbled back into shock once more.

The names, the people who had been murdered by Batman. They had all been people who had been there at the warehouse in an attempt to save her.

And Bruce had held them responsible for her death!

Now it wasn't just a far-fetched theory anymore. The idea had attached itself to her mind, leaving no room for reasoning or logic. Turning Rachel into an emotional wreck, as even her knees couldn't support her anymore.

Bruce had become a murderer.

* * *

"Rachel?" Bruce said when she didn't reply.

Instead she just kept staring at him, eyes wide, trying to keep her breathing under control.

"Rachel, it's me. There's no need to be afraid, those men can't hurt you anymore." He said in an attempt at calming her down.

Instead Rachel quickly picked herself up and ran.

"Rachel!" She heard Bruce call after her, as it took him a second to realize she was running from him. "Wait!"

Nothing he said could make her turn around though. Instead she sprinted as fast as she could, even though she knew that she was no match for Bruce.

Merely a second later her expectations came true; he had gotten a hold of her wrist.

Rachel quickly spun around and gave a powerful tug at seizing her arm. Bruce nearly let her slip but tightened his grip just in time. Only to be slapped in the face, as far as his face could feel the slap beneath the mask.

"Get away from me!" She yelled as she tried to break free by hitting him once more.

Bruce blocked the second blow and took hold of her other wrist as well, pinning her to the wall of the dark alley.

Rachel struggled in his grip for a few more seconds until she decided it was no use.

"Get away from me." She said barely audible while catching her breath.

"No."

For a moment, neither of them said anything as they, especially Rachel, caught their breath from the chase. Even though it hadn't brought them any further than an alley or two.

"Why?" Bruce said as he finally broke the silence.

But he didn't get a reply.

Rachel just stared at him with those fearful eyes. Until she finally broke down.

All the stress of hiding, the sorrow and the desperation she felt suddenly crashed down on her. Tears welled up in her eyes, accompanied by a lost weak attempt at freeing herself, although even her muscles seemed to give up on her.

"You killed Harvey…" She finally whispered, her words hardly audible. But they hit Bruce like a brick wall.

"Rachel." He whispered, looking at her with an expression between shock and confusion.

"Rachel… Please listen to me-"

"Why aren't you denying it?" She interrupted, her voice betraying her own confusion.

"Rachel calm down. Will you please just-"

"It's true isn't it… you killed him, you killed Harvey." She sobbed. "You killed Harvey, and all of those other people."

"What?" Bruce said close to a yell, tightening the grip on her wrists. "Wait, no! you can't really believe that Rachel, you've got to listen to me!"

Bruce's eyes suddenly showed panic as he desperately tried to reason with her. But there was another emotion in there, which she couldn't quite put her finger on. His grip loosened.

"You can't believe that… not you." Every word he spoke was softer than the previous one. Rachel landed on her knees as he let go of her, stepping back slowly. One of his hands moved to his face, his eyes unfocused as he tried to convince himself it wasn't true.

Of all people in Gotham who had doubted the story, the people who had known Batman and seen that it made no sense, Rachel would have been the closest to him. And she truly believed that he had committed those terrible crimes.

"You know me better than that Rachel, I know you do… please tell me that you don't believe that."

"How could I not?" She said after taking a few shaky breaths. "You carried a gun to Joe Chill's hearing all those years ago. How will you convince me that you didn't carry a gun to the people who supposedly were responsible for _my_ death!"

Bruce couldn't believe it.

Not Rachel, there had to be an explanation for this. She couldn't believe that. She had been the one to see him return as a changed man!

"_A man I loved, a man who vanished… He never came back at all."_

The words she had spoken that day after the manor had burnt down suddenly echoed through his head.

Rachel had never even known the man who had come back.

"So that's how you think of me…" He whispered.

The confusion and the panic had disappeared.

All that was left before her was a broken man.

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt. But she hadn't doubted her words. Somewhere she might have felt the need to say his name, to tell him she was sorry. But then she reminded herself of the true nature of the person before her.

And seconds passed in silence.

Until Bruce finally turned around and started walking away from her.

"Where are you going?"

It was out before she realized she had said anything.

Bruce stopped in his tracks.

A shiver travelled up her spine as her anxiety suddenly multiplied tenfold.

After a moment he slightly turned his head and spoke.

"Getting away from you."

And with that he was gone.

"Did something happen master Bruce?" Alfred asked with concern when he saw Bruce return.

Something important was bothering him. And even though these occasions were rare, Alfred always knew something was wrong.

And despite everything, a small smile tugged at Bruce's lips.

"You really do know me better than anyone."

* * *

A/N: Augh! I am NOT fond of this. I really liked the idea but I just couldn't get them to feel as in-character as I wanted to. That's why I could use a beta-reader (That, and I might make them hunt for my typos.). So let me know if you'd like to be my beta-reader! :I

I should probably just have waited longer with uploading this to take another look at it, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen.

Anyway, critique is still appreciated!

(Also, the quality of this is kind of below what I liked it to be. I've got dozens of other ideas drabbled somewhere which I never upload because I'm not too fond of those either. Is anyone interested in seeing them?)


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